
this post may contain affiliate links…

We love Thailand! From its friendly people to its beautiful locations, and incredible food. Indeed, there’s nothing quite like the masterful balance of salty, sweet, aromatic, spicy and pungent that occurs in Thai food. We’ve spent years perfecting our vegan version of Thai green curry, and we hope it shows!
DIY Thai
We think there are two great secrets to making amazing Thai green curry. Firstly, take the time to find all the right ingredients. Secondly, try making the curry paste yourself! You will notice the difference right away. Maybe because you’ll never be able to remove the dinner guests from your house!

We had a Thai chef guiding us the first time we made green curry. During the lesson, she explained the method for making the paste with this simple mantra …
Bok Bok Bok – Tok Tok Tok – Exercise!
The ‘bok’ and ‘tok’ referred to the sound of the mortar and pestle used to grind the Thai green curry paste. The ‘exercise’ happened in the arm and shoulder while we pulverized the ingredients. We were feeling the burn before we even started eating!
Since then we’ve settled on using a food processor to get our green curry going faster. However, Andrew occasionally breaks out the old school equipment depending on the time available (he swears it tastes better).

Seek and You Shall Find
Thai green curry just doesn’t taste the same without the right ingredients. These vegetables, herbs, and spices are what make Thai curries unique. Therefore, we highly recommend making the effort to track them down. In addition to the more common ingredients you’ll need:
- Thai green chilies (small chilis that have their own special flavor)
- Galangal (looks like ginger, but has a different and distinctive taste)
- Lemongrass (quite common)
- Thai basil (slightly spicy, tastes a little like licorice)
- Kaffir lime leaves (absolutely essential!)

In our experience, the ingredients for green curry are readily available from most Asian grocers. The great thing is, many Asian markets are also a culinary wonderland! While you’re shopping, take some time to check out the produce and walk the aisles. You’ll come home full of great ideas.
There’s also a trick to making this curry vegan – a substitute for fish sauce. That strong fishy kick is hard to replace – but we’ve found a worthy substitute: Vegan ‘Fish sauce’ made with seaweed. It’s really good at adding a similar depth of flavor.
Curry in a Hurry
Trust us, all of this work will pay off. When you’re done you’ll have plenty of extra green curry paste left. Just divide this into single-use amounts and freeze it. In fact, this is a great form of meal prep – because with curry paste on hand a delicious vegan meal is just minutes away!
Green Curry for Daaays!

The green curry paste may be a little complex, but the rest of the recipe is quite simple. Just fry the paste a bit to release its fragrance, and then add the eggplant (browning the eggplant enhances its flavor). After that, the rest of the ingredients spend a few minutes simmering in coconut milk. Make sure you give it a big sniff to enjoy the aromas as the veggies cook and the tofu soaks up those flavors!
You can spoon the curry straight into a bowl to enjoy it. However, that green curry is also great with a side of jasmine rice. The curry and rice mingle to create one of the best mouthfuls of food on the planet!

As you can probably tell, we’re pretty excited about Thai green curry. We hope you are too! If you try it, please let us know with a comment and a rating. Every bit of feedback helps make the blog even better!
If you’re looking to spice things up with more curry, check out our Sweet Potato Curry Soup.
Print
Thai Green Curry | Vegan
- Author: Rachel Steenland
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
A delicious Thai green curry with all of the flavor, but no fish sauce! Our vegan version of an authentic curry recipe learned in the Phi Phi Islands.
Ingredients
Thai Green Curry
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons Thai Green Curry Paste (see recipe and notes below)
- 1 cup eggplant (Thai eggplants, cut into eights, orJapanese eggplant, cut into thick slices)
- 1 cup coconut milk (from a can)
- 1 cup clear vegetable broth*
- 2 tablespoons vegan ‘fish sauce’ or soy sauce
- 4 kaffir lime leaves
- 1–2 tablespoons palm sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 cup tofu, cut into cubes
- 1/2 cup bamboo shoots
- 1 cup green beans, trimmed
- 1/2 cup bean shoots
- Salt, to taste
Thai Green Curry Paste
- 20 small Thai green chilies, stem removed
- 2 tablespoons galangal, peeled and chopped
- 3 tablespoons lemon grass (white part only), chopped
- 3 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3 tablespoons Thai shallots (alternatively use green onion), peeled/trimmed
- 1/2 cup Thai sweet basil
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
To serve
- 1/2 cup jasmine rice
- Handful of Thai basil, chopped
Instructions
- Cook jasmine rice according to package instructions.
- Make the Thai Green Curry Paste by placing all curry paste ingredients into a food processor and chopping until a very fine paste is formed.**
- Next make the Thai Green Curry. Heat coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of Thai Green Curry Paste (see note below about spice level), stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add eggplant and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes.
- Pour in the coconut milk, clear vegetable broth and vegan ‘fish sauce’ or soy sauce, and add the whole kaffir lime leaves and and sugar, stir well. Increase heat and bring to the boil.
- Add tofu and bamboo shoots, stir and cook for 5 minutes. Then stir in green beans and bean shoots, cook for a further 2 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning to suit your taste.
- Divide the cooked jasmine rice between two bowls and spoon over Thai Green Curry. Sprinkle with Thai basil. Enjoy!
Notes
- **The Thai Green Curry paste recipe makes more than you need for this recipe. You will need 1 tablespoon of paste per serving. However, if you want your curry to be spicier you can increase this to 1 1/2 tablespoons per person. Freeze remaining green curry paste in desired serving sizes so the paste is ready for a quick meal when desired.
- Nutrition facts are to be used as a guide only and are calculated without optional toppings.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 642
- Sugar: 20.3 g
- Sodium: 2877.6 mg
- Fat: 39.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 58.3 g
- Fiber: 7.6 g
- Protein: 20.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: thai green curry, vegan curry, thai curry

This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll make a small commission if you purchase using these links. The price you pay as a consumer does not change.
4 Responses
I have prepared this recipe recently and I must say it was superb. the authentic curry paste was so good and emanated such beautiful flavors and tasted so authentic I am sure I am not getting a store bought curry paste any more.Thai chilies are very very hot and spicy and so be careful of the no of chilies you use. I am very spice sensitive and so I will not use more than 10 in my curry paste in the future. Otherwise, this is the best homemade Thai curry I have every prepared or tasted.
★★★★★
Thank you so much for your feedback!So happy you enjoyed the green curry paste, and were able to adjust the spice level for future batches 😀
Hi Rachel!
The advice to freeze the paste is great! Greetings- cookingisajourney
Thanks George- yes this paste freezes well! I currently have four packs in the freezer ready for a quick after work meal!